Violets in Vegas: Field of Diamonds
by the morrighan
Summary: Detective John Sheppard races to save the world...but fails to see the more personal consequences.
1. Chapter 1

Violets in Vegas: Field of Diamonds

_I thought we were ahead of the game. I thought we had an ace in the hole or up one sleeve. We were narrowing down the location and would soon have it, in plenty of time to stop Todd and his device. The power stations were secure, the mobs were quelled, and the teams were ready to go at my word. The killings had stopped, which meant Todd was lying low, waiting for the right time as we were._

_Unfortunately we were waiting for two very different things._

**4:10pm**

Carson Beckett fretted as he tried to clean the medical lab. It was a mess, equipment smashed on the floor, instruments scattered like toys, computers beeping at the odd power surges until the system had been restored. He lifted an Ancient scanner. It flared to life at his touch, activated by his ATA gene. He shone the beam across the room, across Moira as she entered.

"Carson? We have a little time before John gets here. Let me help you." Moira O'Meara stepped out of the red beam.

"This is remarkable, love! This scanner is incredible! I just got a full scan of your internal organs, a much clearer picture than I ever would have gotten from even an MRI!" He smiled, running the beam over her again. "It could render invasive procedures unnecessary!"

"Carson!" she scolded, stepping out of the beam again, "stop playing with the Ancient tech and help me help you clean up!"

"It's astounding! Not only a clear picture but also data on health of each organ and an almost microscopic readout of every particle and cell and lining of the…"

"Carson, enough! You can play with it later, all right? Carson?" Moira paused as Carson was staring at the screen on the scanner. Expression full of surprise. "Carson, what is it? Is, is something wrong?" She felt her stomach tense with abrupt worry.

Carson looked at her. Blue eyes filling with warmth. "Not at all, love. Moira, you're pregnant."

Detective John Sheppard reluctantly slowed his vehicle as flashing lights warned of an accident up ahead. He scowled, slowing to a crawl. Police cars were straddling the road, making it all but impossible to get past them. The red and blue lights were a violent flash against the orange sky. An ambulance was parked on the side of the road, as was a forensics van and John got a sick feeling in his gut that this wasn't just some random occurrence of road rage.

With an aggravated sigh he parked. Got out of the car and advanced. The heat hit him like a wave. Suffocating in its intensity. He licked his lips, adjusted his shades. Flipped open his black jacket to reveal his police badge as cops tried to stop his advance. "Whaddya got?"

"And you are?" asked an irate man, sweating into his uniform.

"Detective Sheppard. Whaddya got…" John paused, lowered his shades to read the name on the gleaming badge at the man's breast. "Kohler-Voss?"

"At first I thought it had just run off the road, you know. Tire blown out. But when I opened the back…I thought it was an immigration thing. Illegals. But then when I saw the bodies…"

John stepped past him. He walked off the road, down the steep incline of the shoulder where the white van was resting, almost on its side. One tire had indeed blown, hurling the vehicle off the street and into the ditch. It was pretty banged up on one side, and John realized the van had been forced off the road. He stepped into the scrub. It brushed at his pants, snagging, clawing. He lowered his shades to peer into the dim interior of the vehicle. He winced.

There were at least five men in the back of the van. Piled haphazardly like so much garbage. Stripped to their underwear. At first John thought it had been an animal attack. The men had been savaged, almost literally torn and beaten to a bloody mess. He pursed his lips, took a step inside the van, boot on the rim. The van rocked a moment then settled.

The buzz of flies was loud in the enclosed space. John removed his shades. Orange light filtered in to reveal the bloody mess. The very human marks of fists and boots and nails marred each victim. Faces had been clawed and eyes gouged. Tools lay about, instruments of murder revealed by the blood on them. Hammers. Screwdrivers. Wrenches.

The stench in the heat was overwhelming and John stepped out of the van, away to breathe of the hot but fresher air. He restored his shades to his face as the sunlight hitting the white van was almost blinding. He stepped round looking for a logo, a sign, any kind of identifying mark on the vehicle but there was nothing. Or rather it had been erased. John touched the mark where a decal had been forcibly removed.

"Got anything, detective? Was it the mob? A hit? We've got no ID on the vics. They're stripped of everything."

"It's a work crew of some kind…going…" John paused. He climbed back onto the street. "Whoever did this took their uniforms to replace them." He snatched his phone, already dialing.

"Replace whom? And why?"

"Process the scene and get this cleared up ASAP!" John snapped, heading back to his car. "Danville, put those power stations on high alert! We've got suspects heading in masquerading as employees. Five in all with uniforms of some kind. Run…" He paused, staring. "Shit. They even took the van's plates. We need an ID on this now! Put out an APB on any dented vehicles heading into the city and heading for the power plants. Alert all squads!"

"What? Shep, do you know how many dented vehicles there are in the city?"

"Don't care, Danville! Just do it! We need to find those men now!"

"That…that's impossible!" Moira exclaimed, stunned. She touched her abdomen a moment, dropped her hand to her side. She blushed, shook her head.

Carson smiled. "Look." He held out the scanner. Moira slowly neared, afraid to look, still in denial, in disbelief. "You see here? That's the baby, well, embryo really. Not even a fetus yet. This scanner is so detailed it can even detect the earliest stages of pregnancy. Moira?"

Moira was staring at the remarkably vivid image of her uterus and the tiny life within it. She shook her head again. A wave of tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back, not knowing if they were from happiness or anguish. Or both. "It's impossible," she insisted.

"You are still dating Sheppard, aren't you? And hasn't he all but moved in with you?"

"Yes, I mean yes! But we…I…we've been careful, we are always careful and…" Her voice dropped away as she recalled some very passionate encounters when they hadn't been exactly as careful as they should have been.

"These things happen, love."

"No! No, these don't happen!" She turned away from him, hugging herself. "This can't be happening now! This can't be happening now! My God, we're facing alien invasion and Todd's on the loose and John doesn't even love me and he won't want a baby he won't he won't I don't oh Carson what am I going to do?"

Moira couldn't focus. She felt lost, abandoned, alone. The last thing she wanted was a baby. She had never wanted children. She had been too busy, too focused on her career. And after the disaster at Middlegate Hills, where her fiancé had been killed she never thought to have a lover again, much less a child.

Carson touched her shoulders, setting the scanner aside. "You'll be fine, love, and yes, John loves you and will want this baby, believe me. As do you. Life goes on, Moira. It can't be stopped, not even for an alien invasion. You need to tell him, and tell him now."

She sighed. Steeling herself even as her world seemed to be crumbling around her. "I..I know." She turned to the doctor. Brown eyes full of emotion, distress. "I just don't know how."


	2. Chapter 2

Violets in Vegas: Field of Diamonds2

_The plan was obvious. Todd's little gang of sympathizers would masquerade as employees and stroll right on into the power station and implement the device. Except I was wrong. The objective was never the power stations. Luckily for us Rodney figured it all out and saved us from going to the wrong place. _

_Unluckily for me I still hadn't figured out where the hell Todd was hiding._

John strode into the facility. Dirt and dust flew off his jacket, as filthy as his car since he had been forced to take a long detour through the desert before regaining the road. He was in a foul mood and his every step reverberated with it. He flashed the badge at his hip, shoved past the security guards and made his way to the conference room. The cold air blasted him, freezing the sweat on his body but he welcomed the sensations.

"John! John, wait!"

He paused, turning at the sound of Moira's voice. "I got delayed. Accident. Sabotage. I need that location now, Moira! Please tell me Rodney's got it."

Moira reached him. Eyed him a moment, as if assessing. She touched his arm. "I…I don't know."

"Don't know? What the hell does that mean? Let's go!" He turned to head down the hallway.

"No! John, wait, please! I have to tell you!" She caught his arm, detaining him. But when he turned to her she released it. Bit her lower lip, uncertain. Fearful.

"Well? Tell me what?"

"I… I have to tell you…I, um, I um…" she hesitated as a group of people passed, walking around them. She didn't want to announce the pregnancy to all of these strangers. She found it hard to say the words out loud, having no idea how he would react but she needed to tell him.

"Well?" he snapped. "We don't have time for this, Moira! You can tell me afterwards, all right? Let's go!" He resumed his angry stride.

Moira sighed, following him into the conference room.

"Whaddya got so far?" John asked without preamble. He moved to the center of the room. Glared at the odd device on the table. "Is that it?"

"Yes." Rodney McKay gestured and people were taking seats. "This is a facsimile of what Todd has more than likely built."

"And what is it?" John asked.

"Simply put, it is the Wraith version of a ZPM." He waited, but John said nothing. No comprehension dawned in his sour gaze. "You still haven't read the file?"

"I've been kinda busy, McKay. Todd's been leaving a string of bodies around and now I've got some impersonators who will hit a power plant and I need to know which one! So streamline it for me, all right?"

"I just did," Rodney stated. "All this time we have been working under the wrong assumption."

"And that is?" John asked.

"That Todd needs a strong power source to make this thing operational. To send a signal to others of his species. We were wrong. Moira figured it out."

All eyes swung to Moira as she stood near the doorway, rapt in her own concerns until she heard her name. "I did?" She met the stares, puzzled. She met John's gaze, shrugged.

Rodney hit a switch. The cone-shaped device began to hum. To glow an eerie tan color. The hum grew louder and louder until a beam of energy shot up and into the ceiling. Rodney shut off the device before it triggered any alarms. "This is just a model. The real thing would have destroyed the building and created a brief but very powerful vortex." He glanced up as a ceiling tile began to shed flakes. "Oh oh."

"Uh huh," John said. He shook his head. "Some model. Are you sure about this?"

"About the model. Absolutely. It's the only thing that makes sense from what he took. The components from the Darts won't work with any Ancient technology but an interface can be created with our own technology to bridge the gap between the two systems, and energy is energy and matter is matter no matter what galaxy you are in." He smiled at his joke but no one got it. He sighed. "Anyway, basic physics remains the same no matter if you're using Earth tech or Wraith tech or Ancient tech. I was trying to make it too complicated, but following Occam's razor I realized what Moira did."

"And that is? And who's Occam?"

"Occam's razor! The _lex parsimoniae_! That the competing hypothesis that makes the fewest new assumptions is the correct one when all the hypotheses are equal in all other respects."

"The law of parsimony," Moira translated. "The simplest explanation is most likely the correct one," she explained, "although it depends upon the burden of proof and the—"

"Got it. Thanks, Moira," John said, glancing at her. "At least you can speak English on occasion. Hey, I thought that was Murphy's law."

"That's the one that says anything that can go wrong will go wrong," Evan Lorne corrected.

"Oh yeah. That typifies this day, doesn't it?" John quipped. "What did Moira figure out?"

"The signal has already been sent," Rodney continued, drawing the attention back to him once more. "Todd is attempting to open the rift itself. This thing here can draw massive amounts of energy without needed to be attached to a powerful source. Any source will do. It runs on a quantum entanglement utilizing multiple particles to—"

"Whoa!" John held up a hand. "Quantum what? And remember, streamline!"

Rodney smiled. "I was streamlining!" He sighed. "Quantum mechanics is a mathematical discipline of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interaction of matter and energy. Physics at its highest and most complicated level. My specialty as it were. Quantum entanglement is a feature of quantum mechanics which occurs when the physical properties of a quantum system have become excited into a single quantum state. You see?"

"No. So this thing is a…a…" John faltered, at a loss. He looked round, but everyone seemed to be in the same boat.

"Isn't it obvious? This system is comprised of multiple particles. One of the particles cannot be fully described without considering the others, even if separated by some distance. In other words this power source could be anything because this device can operate on both wave and particle atoms. It can alter them however it needs. It will literally suck the city dry of all power and all it would need is to be plugged into a wall socket!"

"So you're saying that Todd can plug this thing in anywhere and it will work?" Evan said.

"Yes! But no."

"Here we go," John muttered.

"I mean it can't be just anywhere. It has to be somewhere elevated. To send the energy beam towards the rift it would have to be very, very high. As high as it can be and would need a, a point of reference, some kind of antennae to focus all of that power and send it straight into the tear of the rift."

"So he's not going to the power stations. So those men weren't employees of the power stations. So who did they work for and where are Todd's goons going?"

"What are you talking about?" Rodney asked.

"There was an attack on a van and everyone in it was killed. Stripped of their uniforms. We have no idea who they were or where they were going," John clarified.

"We just lost any advantage we might have had," Evan muttered.

"So you're saying he needs a high place, with a focus point, like an antennae?" he asked. Furiously thinking as he glanced at Moira again.

"Yes, that's what I said. Which doesn't narrow it down to—"

"It does narrow it down. There's only one place like that in Vegas," Evan realized, moving to his feet.

"Shit, you're right," John realized, eying the other man.

"Care to clue the rest of us in?" Rodney asked. "Where's he going?"

"The Stratosphere," John and Evan answered at the same time.


	3. Chapter 3

Violets in Vegas: Field of Diamonds3

_We had him! We had that son of a bitch at last! We knew exactly where he was going with that infernal device. We knew his followers were masquerading as employees. We even knew how the device worked. Well, McKay knew, and what was more important is that he knew how to stop it. We could mobilize our teams and stop them, intercept them, and catch all of them before sunset. We could catch Todd before he completed his mission. _

_Too late I realized I had miscalculated. I had neglected the opinions of one expert. I had overlooked her insight into Todd's end game. And it would cost me dearly. _

"The Stratosphere?" Rodney asked, clearly skeptical. "He's going to a casino now?"

"A casino and a hotel," John corrected. "Bring up the stats," he ordered. A technician complied, fingers tapping on a keyboard to fill the screen with images, data as John talked. "It is the tallest structure in Vegas with the tallest freestanding observation tower at 1,149 feet and it is separate from the hotel and casino."

"Which ends in a spire," Evan continued, as the pictures filled the screen. "It's the fifth tallest structure in the world. It has two observation decks, a revolving restaurant and four thrill rides."

"You both sound like brochures," Rodney quipped. But he grew serious, eying the pictures of the slim white structure. The antennae at the top of it, pointing into the clouds. "That spire would work as a focal point for the accumulated power."

"I'll alert security, and send a squad to start IDing employees." John stepped out of the conference room, fingers on his phone but the room started to shake.

"What the…earthquake?" Carson asked, staggering into the room and hitting the wall.

"Aftershock! Hold on!" Rodney shouted, clinging to the table as the floor shook. Chairs slid and people hunched, grabbing onto more solid fixtures. The fluorescent lights swayed and flickered, throwing shadows across the walls. The monitors shimmered, images on the screen blurring, blinking as power waxed and waned.

John quickly moved to Moira, pushed her against a wall and stood protectively in front of her, bracing himself as the ceiling beams quivered above their heads. "Is there any way Todd's creating this?"

"No."

"No? Are you sure?" John questioned.

"It's a natural event," Moira said behind his back. She touched his arms, steadying him against her as the building groaned in protest. "Those new fault lines in California are suddenly active, but these aftershocks are stronger than expected."

"We might be facing more than an alien invasion if these extreme conditions on the planet continue and we…" Rodney paused in his shouting as the quake stopped. The room became still. Silent. A single ceiling tile fell and broke in half on the table. "At least that's over."

"Talk about a ferocious planet," John quipped. "I guess along with everything else it's a good day for it. If we have to combat the planet as well who will be the first to go? Talk about a change of plans!" He turned, stepping away from Moira. "You okay?"

"I…yes. You—"

"And you're sure he's not causing this?"

"Yes, I'm sure! We can't lay all of the planet's problems at Todd's feet," Rodney asserted.

"The Stratosphere's got heavy security. Even disguised as employees how will they get to the spire? How will Todd?" Carson asked, as they moved back to the table.

"The Wraith can get inside your head, right? They can make you see things that aren't there? I'm sure a little mind game, a little dissembling isn't beyond him. Talk about a thought crime," John muttered. "And those followers have a reason to believe, don't they? What a family album that would be. I sure would hate to see the other sister. What?" he snapped, realizing he was babbling nonsensically. He wondered if he had been in the heat too long.

"You know how this thing works. You know how to shut it off?" Evan asked, eying the model after staring at Sheppard in confusion. He wondered if the detective had been drinking again.

"Yes. I think. Yes, of course I do," Rodney stated, sounding more confident than he felt. "Unless there's a feedback loop, of course, then if I do it wrong I could implode the whole city. But it won't come to that, it won't," he assured, seeing the consternation on the faces of his colleagues. "Talk about a dog's breakfast," he muttered.

"We're not talking nuclear power here, right?" John asked, brows furrowing at the odd remark. He wondered if it was some Canadian saying.

"No! Nothing like that. Not even cold fusion, not even a ZPM module. It's not the power per se but how it is used, how it is gathered and focused on one point in time and space. How it is accumulated for one massive burst generating a wave of atoms and particles that could literally rip the tear in the rift wide open…it…"

"Oh oh. I don't like that look. What is it?" Evan said, seeing Rodney frozen as his mind leapt ahead of his words.

"Rodney," John said slowly.

"It's nothing. I'll figure it out, I'll figure it out," he muttered, moving to a computer.

"Well, make it fast! We have a deadline for murder here! I'll go make those calls. Lorne, bring up everything on the Stratosphere, building records, blueprints, the works!" John stepped out into the hallway, fingers on his phone. But suddenly returned as a thought struck. "Wait a second. You said all he has to do is to plug it into any wall socket and it will suck out all the power? What if we cut off all power to the Stratosphere?"

"That won't work. The back-up systems will still be running, and I'm sure they have emergency power like we do."

"But it would at least slow it down, right?" Evan asked. "I mean, if this thing drains the power out of the Stratosphere it won't be enough to—"

"No, you don't understand," Rodney said, shaking his head. "It won't just drain the Stratosphere. The quantum entanglement coalesces all power into that one source."

"Come again?" John asked.

"Quantum entanglement as a physical manifestation represented by this device!"

"Come again?" John repeated.

Rodney sighed. "It's going to suck all the power it can, like a giant vacuum! Got it now?"

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" John snapped.

"Because it's more than that! It's quantifying energy in both wave and particle formats to produce a singular emission to rend the tear in the space/time continuum and open a doorway to another reality!"

"If it's like a giant vacuum can't you just pull the plug on it?" Carson asked.

"No! Good God, man, the results would be disastrous! We could render several multiverses open at once, or at worst implode half of our own planet! You can't just pull the plug on a quantum entanglement emitter to..."

"Wait! Are you saying it will drain the not only the Stratosphere but the hotel as well? The surrounding buildings too?" Moira asked, drawn into the conversation despite her more personal tribulations. She looked at John but he was looking at Rodney, waiting for an answer. Everyone was waiting for an answer.

"No! Well, yes, but much further than that! The power requirements alone will not drain the immediate area." Rodney paused, glanced at the model he had created. "They will drain all of Vegas," Rodney informed.

"And that's why you can't just pull the plug. Overload," John realized. "Shit. I better go make those calls. We've got to catch these guys before they plug in that thing." He exited the room, quickly accessing the numbers he needed on his phone.


	4. Chapter 4

Violets in Vegas: Field of Diamonds4

_Things were moving fast, but we were in control. Or so I thought. And here I was, like a colonel marshaling the troops, issuing orders to the hotel/casino, to the cops at the precinct, and soon to the teams that were assembling in the facility. I hadn't been in control of any operation of this scale in a long, long time, but to tell the truth the role felt natural, it felt right. Like John Sheppard had finally stepped up to the plate and wasn't found wanting. I felt equal to the task ahead of me. I hadn't felt like that in a long, long time._

_Foolishly I started to believe that I could be as heroic as that other John Sheppard. _

As voices were raised in discussion of tactics and argument Moira stepped out of the room. John was pacing up and down the hall, phone pressed to his ear. His low voice was gruff, curt. His black and white clothes were stark against the muted gray walls of the hall. The clomping of his shoes the only sound besides his voice rising and falling as he ordered and cajoled and demanded.

She waited until he was done. He was shoving his phone into the pocket of his jacket when she approached. "John? John, I need to tell you—"

He turned at her voice, handsome face full of irritation and impatience. "You wouldn't believe this, Moira! All the flak I am getting but it's not like I can the truth, now can I? I can't very well say there's a space alien on the loose and he is going to set up an alien device to open a rift in space/time to bring over his buddies for a banquet of humans! Plus he's got help from some very delusional and dangerous followers who will more than likely serve as the appetizers!"

"You're doing your best, John. We all are. John, I need—"

"Am I? Are we?" he questioned, brushing aside her concern, her need. "I'm not so sure, but sometimes I am and that's what troubles me. God, I sound like a scientist now!" he grumbled.

Moira had to smile. She touched his arm. "Then you're evolving, John. That's a good thing."

"Is it?" he queried, raising a brow. "I could have sworn I was perfect before this."

She tilted her head, gaze roving over him. "Hmm…almost."

"Almost? I should spank that pert little ass for that, baby, but there isn't time." He made to move past her.

She caught his arm. "John, wait! I need to tell you! I…um…" She faltered as he turned to her. "John…look, John, I know this is lousy timing, probably the worst but I need to tell you I—"

"You're right. This is the worst time, Moira. You can tell me later, okay? We've got work to do, so can whatever personal shit you've got with me! Tell me no secrets!"

"No! It's not okay, John! Damn it, give me five minutes, will you?" she snapped, feeling tears at his almost callous disregard, although to be fair he had no idea what was coming.

"I have! And so far you haven't told me anything!" he flared. The sparkle of tears in her eyes was like diamonds as they caught the light and he felt uncomfortable at the display of emotion. The last thing he needed was some cheesy Hallmark moment, some awkward declaration of feelings even if it was the end of the world.

"I'm trying!" she said, almost shouting at him. She didn't want to tell him like this, not in some bizarre shouting match in the middle of a hallway but there was no other way, any other time. "John, I have to tell you I'm—"

"Later, all right, Moira?" he snapped, as again she hesitated, then plunged ahead only to hesitate once more. "You can tell me tonight, if there is a tonight! I've got to get the teams prepped and send them now! I don't have time for whatever maudlin sentiments you may feel the sudden need to tell me!" He moved past her, down the hallway. He disappeared into the conference room, his brusque words harsh in her ears. In his.

Moira watched him go, the last word of her sentence on her lips. She felt a wave of tears, as if he had rejected her, rejected the baby he didn't even know about yet. If he wouldn't make time for her now would he ever make time for her and a baby? She whirled, hastened up the hallway, up the stairs, fleeing. Needing to run, to get away as if she could escape his reaction, her reaction. As if she by leaving she could leave all of this behind her and ignore it.

At the top of the stairs she crashed into someone, nearly fell backwards but a man's hand caught her arm, pulled her to safety. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes, sorry! I…sorry! I have to go. I mean I have to go home now. I'm not needed here and I have to go home. I shouldn't even be here. I should be in Snowmass Village, Colorado. They've just discovered a new prehistoric fossil site and are uncovering unprecedented finds like mammoth and mastodon together which has never happened this far west and the remains of a pre-extinction horse so I need to be there!" She was talking fast, very fast, anxiety a living thing inside her, compelling her, rushing her.

"All right. Doctor O'Meara, right? I'm heading into the city right now to supervise our teams so I can drop you off at your house."

"You would? I mean…I mean I can always get a ride with one of the teams later or—" she offered, backpedaling suddenly.

"No, I insist," the man said. He still had hold of her arm and steered her towards the door. "You are obviously very upset and need to calm down before you make such a momentous decision. And you would be safer at home than here, I think. Let's go."

"Okay, okay. Thank you." She let him lead her out of the facility.

The sunlight gleamed upon his bald head.

"Where are we?" John demanded, breaking into an ongoing discussion but not caring. He felt a twinge of guilt at the way he had spoken to Moira. He felt bad about brushing her off like that, dismissing whatever she had to say. He decided to make it up to her later, if there was a later. He would take her to a nice restaurant and spoil her a little. Let her tell him everything and anything to her heart's content. He sighed. Women.

"I'm working on a way to disrupt the energy signature once the device is activated and thus interrupt the transmission to the rift but it's only a temporary measure in case we don't reach it in time," Rodney said, fingers typing furiously on a computer keyboard. "I will still need to physically remove the device from the wall socket and I am trying to figure out how to do that without blowing myself up and half of Vegas with me."

"Try harder! Lorne?"

"Schematics of the Stratosphere." Evan hit a button and the plans were illuminated on a screen. "There are several ingress and egress points, far too many to cover all at once and at any rate Todd and his followers are more than likely already inside."

"Wonderful," John muttered. "Show me the access points to the observation tower. All angles. Weir, you and Caldwell will front our assault here while we tackle the observatory." John looked round suddenly. "Where the hell is Caldwell?"

"He's not here. He was heading out for the city to set up preliminary positioning," a man answered.

"Great…he still thinks he's in command. Woolsey will have to set him right. Where the hell is Woolsey?" John asked, looking round again.

"He's not here. He's conferring with the city officials or the hotel officials over a possible evacuation."

"Terrific," John muttered. "Looks like it's you and me, McKay. McKay!"

"Isn't it always? Still working! Don't interrupt the brilliant scientist trying to save the world!" the physicist snapped, moving from computer to computer.

"Flantastic. Now we…" John paused, shook his head. "I meant fantastic. I need a drink," he muttered. "I want our teams and only our teams to infiltrate the building and to—"

"You gotta see this!" A man ran into the room, switched on the television. "They're evacuating the Stratosphere! A bomb exploded in the hotel!"


	5. Chapter 5

Violets in Vegas: Field of Diamonds5

_Things were suddenly moving too fast. Suddenly I found myself in charge of it all. Both nominal leaders were missing, presumably in the city, leaving McKay and myself to spearhead the rest of the plan, to organize the attack and move from brainstorming to strategy to action. Which actually suited me as I thought that both Caldwell and Woolsey were assholes at the best of times. Both impeded me and both didn't trust me. They didn't like me either, but I didn't give a shit about that. Both were pains in my ass and I was glad they were otherwise engaged._

_I should have known one of them would prove to be a traitor._

**5:25pm**

Every channel was showing the same lurid images. Smoke billowing from part of the casino/hotel. Black smoke was filling the orange sky. Dousing the city in an early dusk, but the lights of Vegas were not so easily dimmed. There were fire trucks and ambulances on the scene, along with police cars. People were being evacuated in an orderly fashion. Startled tourists and employees staring around in wonder, in fear, lifting cell phones to capture every moment. Flames licked one side of the building, but the observatory appeared untouched.

"Too bad it wasn't the MGM Grand," John muttered, hands splayed on the table as everyone viewed the images.

"That's one hell of a distraction, or a diversion," Carson commented.

"Got it!" Rodney announced, spinning in the swivel chair with a smile. "Oh. What's this?"

"Fire at the Stratosphere. Evacuation. The question is did they do it, or did we?" John wondered.

"What? You really think we would deliberately set a fire to evacuate the site?" Rodney began, outraged at the suggestion. "I don't—"

"Yes. Quickest way to get everyone out. I wouldn't put it past Caldwell. Or Woolsey." John straightened, rubbed his chin. "We need to get in touch with both of them. He glanced at his watch. "We're running out of time. Rodney, you've got a way to interrupt this thing before it transmits?"

"Yes, but as I said previously it is only at best a temporary measure to—"

"Good enough. Gather what you need. We move in five."

"Five? How the hell are we going to get past all of that…oh," Rodney realized as John flipped open his jacket to flash his badge.

"Weir, you're heading up both teams until we hear from Caldwell. Where the hell is Caldwell again? Get him on the phone now!" John turned back to Elizabeth as she stood. Her expression was solemn, awaiting orders. "The police will be clearing the casino and hotel. Go round the back entrance and check the observatory floor by floor. Secure each level. No one gets out."

"Sounds good, Sheppard. What about you?"

"I'll be with McKay and Lorne. We're going for the gold, straight up to the observatory's pinnacle. Beckett, I want you with the ground forces in case of casualties."

"Of course, Sheppard. I'll just need to get my kit." But the doctor stood, staring at the detective as if expecting something.

"We need to go in quick. No need to be quiet now, but don't go flashing those weapons or there will be trouble. Where the hell is Woolsey? He should be handling the bureaucrats, not me!" John looked around suddenly. "Where the hell is Moira?" He snatched his phone, dialing as he spoke. "I don't need to tell you this is a shoot to kill situation."

"John? Are you sure? I mean, I mean…" Rodney faltered.

"Afraid so, Rodney. Those followers won't hesitate to shoot us to achieve their goal. Followers like that are fanatic. You can't reason with them. There isn't time for discussion." He scowled. "She's not answering." He shoved his phone into his pants. Clapped his hands. "Let's move, people! Now! Beckett, get your damn kit already!"

"So there's an excavation in Snowmass Village? I think I remember reading something about that."

Moira was lost in her own contemplations. Trying to hold it together, to keep her emotions in check even as tears burned behind her eyes and the streets blurred before her. The desert gave way to the outer city limits, then the suburbs. "What? Oh, yes. In Colorado. It was, it was uncovered by construction workers, quite by accident. The finds so far have been unprecedented for the region. It's very rich in fossils, most dating from the last ice age." She realized she was babbling again and stopped.

"I'm surprised you weren't already out there."

"I've been busy. And I don't exactly have a stellar reputation. After the Mongolia fiasco, well, in any event I can go to help out, I mean the science is what's important not the turn here on the left. Sorry, I know I'm not making any sense," she stammered, wishing she was in John's battered red car, wishing that John was driving, that at last she could tell him even if he didn't care or couldn't be bothered either way. Instead she was stuck with a relative stranger, in an air-conditioned, comfortable car that smoothly rode the streets with nary a bump or bounce.

"It's all right, Doctor O'Meara. We're all a little stressed now." The car rolled down the residential streets. Passing quiet houses and well-kept lawns. Just a typical Sunday afternoon. One man was mowing his lawn. The churn of the motor a noisy but oddly peaceful hum in the hot air. The distant cries of children could be heard as they played some game. A dog barked. "Here we are."

The car stopped outside of her house. It was bathed in the orange glow of the sky like all the others, appearing like a painting done in stark oils. The distant wail of sirens could be heard. "Yes, we are. We all are." She got out of the car. Turned and shut the door. "Thank you." She didn't know what else to say. Instead she turned and walked up to the house. Entered it after unlocking the door.

She stood, staring round the room. The familiar furnishings were comforting. It was quiet, peaceful. Warm and stagnant. She walked to the table. Stood staring down at an empty beer bottle John had left and neglected to throw out. He liked sprawling on the couch, sipping his beer and just relaxing into the silence before dinner. Before more passionate activities took over and enveloped him in a more energetic way to pass the evening.

She sighed. Debated whether or not to call him. She didn't know what to do. She just stood there, staring at the empty beer bottle as if it had all the answers.

The man sat in the car. Procured his phone. Dialed. Sent a simple message. He sat, staring at the house. He could see her through the front window. She was standing there, just standing, staring at something. He wondered what it was. He wondered if she was suspicious, had an inkling of what was going to happen. He wondered if she was going to call Sheppard at any moment. He felt a wave of panic, but quelled it.

He turned the key in the ignition, preparing to leave. He paused. His hand froze on the key as he mulled over his decision. Debating. A pang of remorse hit him. He had nothing against the paleontologist. Nothing at all. She was a means to an end, nothing more. An unfortunate by-product of an endgame, of a negotiation that had hinged on many things.

Unfortunately this had been one of those things.

He knew there would be collateral damage. There always was. He was enough of a realist to accept that, to acknowledge that. He was doing what he had to for the good of the facility, for the good of the planet. No one could fault him for that. His motives weren't selfish at all. No one could fault him for any of that.

Except perhaps the woman standing in her house, staring at nothing.

He shook his head. "I can't do this. I can't…" He got out of the car. The heat smothered him in a palpable wave, shining slickly on his bald head. He couldn't do this. He had agreed to do many things. He had agreed to do many unpalatable things for the good of his country, for the good of the planet. But he couldn't agree to this.

Richard Woolsey couldn't agree to murder.


	6. Chapter 6

Violets in Vegas: Field of Diamonds6

_I knew. I knew something was wrong, only I was too blind to see it. I was too wrapped up in trying to save the world, to command our teams and the cops and the plethora of questions being thrown at me from every direction. I was so wrapped up in it all, in myself I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. _

_If only I had listened to Moira. If only I had let her say what she needed to say, to tell me what she needed to tell me. It would have changed everything. Everything._

_God forgive me, I should have made time for Moira._

Chaos reigned in the secret government facility but at least it was an organized kind of chaos. Squads of trained soldiers were gathering their supplies, pulling on TAC vests and arming themselves with weapons of every shape and variety. Even some not of this world.

John was going over the final plans, leaning over the table as a map was spread on it, depicting the layout of the Stratosphere and the surrounding environs. Evan was pointing, highlighting the access points, both those public and private. Elizabeth was watching as well, nodding and cradling her P90 as tenderly as a lover as she blew stray dark curls out of her eyes. Even with the air conditioning the heat could be felt beating on the walls.

"I can't reach Caldwell or Woolsey," Rodney said, entering the room. He was shoving a strange-looking contraption into a backpack. "I think there's some static interference from the solar flares. Or from the asteroid. It was close enough that the Earth's gravitational pull altered its trajectory slightly and any debris could temporarily hamper our own—"

"Whoa, back up! What asteroid? There's a fucking asteroid now?" John asked, scowling.

"There was. To be precise it was Asteroid 2002MN. It came 120,000 kilometers close to the Earth, the closest fly-by on record! It wasn't a NEA or anything like that but the—"

"NEA?"

"Near Earth Collision," Evan supplied. "Why didn't we hear a thing about this?"

"Because we didn't know about it until it had already passed. It approached from the sun-facing side and asteroids are nearly undetectable unless they approach from the dark side."

"So apart from these freakish earthquakes and a possible alien invasion we almost got pulverized by an asteroid? Oh, not to mention the lunar eclipse happening in a few hours."

"Not pulverized. It was a close fly-by but not close enough to impact the Earth."

"If it had we'd been talking an extinction event on some scale," Evan noted. "Good thing we have a paleontologist on our team, just in case."

"Yeah. Where the hell is Moira?" John dialed his phone again, waited. "She's still not answering." He crossed to the PA, hit the button. "Moira O'Meara, get that pert little ass back to the conference room now! We almost had an extinction event!" He smirked. "That should do it." He returned to the table. "What is that?"

Rodney had shoved the instrument into the backpack with some effort. He slung it over his shoulder. The backpack was bulging, appearing comical hoisted against his dark suit. "What? Oh, this will run interference for us if we don't get there before the device is activated. I've got a portable power source but I will have to be in the vicinity for the thing to work."

"All right. We'll keep trying to contact Caldwell and Woolsey, but otherwise we are doing this without them. Weir, head up the ground squads and keep the area clear. No one gets out of that observation tower. We will corner Todd and his cronies and take them out one by one."

"You do realize that Woolsey will want Todd alive," Rodney interjected, adjusting the backpack on his shoulders. It was heavier than he thought.

"Yeah. Thing is, I don't. And I'm in charge now. You have your orders, Weir. Shoot to kill. Or do you have some ethical qualm about that?"

Elizabeth smiled. "None at all, Sheppard. Gee, you sound like one of us. Almost. You've been in command before this? What it the Air Force?"

"Yeah, something like that. Now I am trying to save a city. Why is it always a city?" he wondered quietly. He shook his head.

"The planet, actually," Evan corrected, rolling up the map. "Let me try calling her. Maybe she's not answering because she's pissed at you," he offered, seeing the detective snatching his phone yet again, even as he turned expectantly to the doorway. But no one was there.

"She probably is pissed at me, but even then she always answers her phone," John stated. A thread of worry was inserting itself, although he had no reason to worry. None at all. Maybe Moira was somewhere in a lower lab where she couldn't get phone reception, or she had run out of minutes, or she had not paid her bill and was cut off from service. All logical reasons making perfect sense. Yet John's gut told him they were all wrong.

Carson entered the room, medical kit in hand. "I've got first aid and whatever else I could grab on such short notice. Just in case. Am I with Weir or with you, John?"

"With me for now. We'll be in close quarters up in the observatory. Grab a gun on the way out, would ya? I trust you can shoot."

"Yes, I can shoot. I don't like it, but I can shoot," the doctor grumbled.

"Nothing." Evan frowned. "That's not like her at all." A crease of worry lined his brow as he met John's gaze.

"Let's move out. I'll check with security and see if she signed out of the building. That doesn't make any sense but it's the only explanation. Except she would still answer her phone."

"You must have really pissed her off," Evan commented, shaking her head. "What did you do, break up with her?"

"Shut up," John muttered. "Like I'd choose today to do that?"

Richard hastened up the sidewalk. He knocked on the front door. "Moira! Moira, open up! It's me! Please, we haven't much time!" He pounded his fist on the door. "Doctor O'Meara, please! You are in danger, terrible danger! I have to get you out of here now!"

Moira whirled, startled out of her morose thoughts. Worries shattering as the voice shouted at her, a warning she didn't understand. She moved to the front door and opened it. "Mr. Woolsey? What is—"

He grabbed her arm, tried to pull her out of the house. "We have to go now! Please, I can't explain now but we have to leave!" His grip was tight. Painful.

"Let go of me!" She struggled, twisting arm and pulled free. She tried to close the door but he blocked it with his foot, his shoulder. "What is wrong with you? No!" He had grabbed her arm and forcibly hauled her out of the house only to suddenly shove her back inside it.

"Too late! Go!" Richard had heard the screech of tires as cars rolled up to the street. As boisterous men had erupted out of the vehicles and were heading straight for the house. He turned, slammed the door shut and locked it. "Run, Moira! Find a place to hide! I'll try to fend them off, tell them you escaped or ran away! Go!"

"What the hell is going on? Who are those men? What have you done? I'm calling John!" she said, backing away from him, from the door but it was suddenly kicked open. The chain snapped and the frame bucked. The wood splintered under the violent assault. She kept pressing the button on the phone even as she began to back away from the strangers infiltrating her home.

"Stop, stop, please, I made a mistake, I never agreed to this, you can't—" the rest of Richard's protest was lost as he was hit and shoved out of the way. He crashed into the glass table, shattering it as it upended. Blood spurted as he was hit, punched.

The men headed for Moira, smiling with utter glee.


	7. Chapter 7

Violets in Vegas: Field of Diamonds7

_I fucked up._

**6:10pm**

John stood at the security station, frowning as the guard started to sweat under the detective's merciless glare. The teams were steaming past him, voices quiet, guns and stunners held against TAC vests. The stomping of their boots was a constant noise in the background, until it was just John and the guard once more.

The man turned the log to the detective, as if he hadn't read it and read it and still the words remained the same. Still Moira's signature was a scrawl on the page recording when she had left the building. She had been gone nearly two hours and John hadn't even noticed until now. He berated himself. He took out his frustration and worries on the hapless guard.

"And? That's it?" John snapped.

The paunchy man was visibly sweating now. Droplets were funneling down the folds of his neck into his starched collar. "Yes sir. She signed out with a lot of people. I didn't, I didn't notice anything amiss at all. Not at all."

"You didn't notice anything," John said, repeating the words slowly. His tone was accusing both himself and the man in front of him. "Did she say anything to you? Anything at all?"

"No sir. Not a, not a word. She signed the sheet and left. That's all, I swear! I wasn't told not to let her go. I wasn't told to stop her!"

"She was upset."

John looked over at the Scottish voice. Carson was heading for him, frowning. "And you know this because…"

"Because I could see it on her face! Everyone could, except for you, apparently! Damn it, John, she had something important to tell you and you just brushed her off, didn't you?"

"We don't have time for this! Whatever it was could have waited, right? We're trying to save the world, here, doc, or have you forgotten?"

"Some things are more important, John, then saving the bloody world!" Carson fumed. He was angry, really angry but wouldn't break Moira's confidences. He felt it wasn't his place to inform John of his impending fatherhood.

"Like what, then? Feelings? All of that shit can wait, can't it? Damn it!" He tried his phone again, tried calling her but there was still no answer. He softly swore, moved out of the building.

The security guard breathed a sigh of relief. He wiped his brow.

John paused in the parking lot. He stared dumbly at his phone. Shoved it into his pocket. He glanced up at the orange sky. An early dusk was falling. The sun was blotted by the rising smoke in the city. Lights dance don the horizon, another aurora of orange and gold and violet that was both beautiful and disturbing. The heat still pounded like waves in the air. Unrelenting.

"John? Shouldn't we be moving now?" Rodney asked, coming to stand beside him. He shifted the heavy backpack onto his other shoulder.

Evan joined them, glancing at the sky. "Wow. We'll be able to see the lunar eclipse pretty soon, unless all of that smoke blocks it."

"Darkness is falling early," Rodney agreed, frowned. "This can't be good."

"Go on. I'll meet up with you at the Stratosphere," John decided. Something was telling him to move, telling him that something was very wrong and he wasn't going to ignore that telltale feeling any longer.

"Where are you going?" Rodney asked.

"I want to check on Moira. Make sure she's okay. I'll meet up with you at the observatory. Lorne, go with him. Beckett, you too. I won't be five minutes." John strode to his car.

The three men watched him go. "Huh. You think something's wrong with Moira?" Rodney asked.

"I hope not. I'm sure she's fine. But it's not like her to not answer her phone," Evan remarked.

"I'm going to follow John in my car, just in case. I'll see you at the Stratosphere." Carson moved towards his own vehicle. Worry a knot in his stomach.

"Looks like we keep getting dumped," Rodney noted.

"Yeah…must be that ridiculous backpack. Let's go."

"What? What is so ridiculous about my backpack?" Rodney asked, following after the younger man. "Hey! I call shotgun!"

Todd smiled. He sat in the desert. Away from the noise of the city and the harshness of the bright lights. Away from the stench of all those humans and their yapping voices, their colorful clothes, their endless indulgence in all that Vegas has to offer. Sometimes a Wraith needed to be alone, and Todd was no exception.

He couldn't wait to be with others of his own kind, however. He longed for some intelligent conversation. He longed for the comfort of the Hive mind to enfold him, to embrace him and make him feel whole again. He longed to be in the service of a powerful queen, but not too powerful. Todd was enjoying his autonomy and knew he would be reluctant to give it all up in service to a queen. He would have to be careful and cunning.

Luckily he was both.

He sat on the hard, baked ground. The heat enveloped him like a blanket. The air was thick. The content of oxygen was greater on this planet but his lungs adjusted. His facial slits opening slightly to allow easier filtration of carbon dioxide which was excessively higher than what he had ever encountered. He blamed it on the noxious emissions of their vehicles. These stupid humans were destroying their world and they either didn't know it or didn't care.

Luckily the Wraith would save the planet, and most of the humans on it.

Todd folded his hands in his lap. His legs were folded under him. He closed his eyes, concentrating. He could feel the tiny thoughts of his followers. He could sense their excitement, their utter delusions about him and he chuckled. Their gullibility was pathetic, but useful. He found them so easy to control. He had not had to exert much in the way of mind control. It had only taken a few of his own cells to strengthen the connection and make them that much more malleable. An injection to bind them, which would soon fade as their own immune systems recovered and ejected the foreign cellular material.

Luckily he didn't need them to be compliant for that much longer.

It was lovely out here in the desert. Quiet. Peaceful. Darkness was falling. The chirps of bugs were a constant song in the background. A coyote howled in the hills. It was a mournful sound. Like a dirge to mark the end of the world.

Todd opened his eyes. He could hear the sounds of cars heading his way. He saw their headlights gleaming on the road, casting long beams along the desert sands. Throwing the scrub into sharp relief and impossibly elongated shadows. He stood, brushing off the dirt from his clothes.

Todd smiled. There were only two things left to do now.

He touched the module on his wrist. The screen beeped in response. A little orange light flashed, then went dark. The first thing was done. As soon as the device high in the sky accumulated enough power it would send its signal up along the focal spire and straight into the heart of the rift. It would open the rift and his brethren on the other side would rip their way through time and space. They would force their way to the new feeding ground.

That left only the second thing to do.

Destroy John Sheppard.


	8. Chapter 8

Violets in Vegas: Field of Diamonds8

_I should have listened to Moira. Why didn't I listen to Moira? She had told me about Todd and I did listen, but I misunderstood. In my hubris I figured the son of a bitch would come after me. I was the target, after all. She had told me that and I had listened to her. I didn't mind being the target. I wanted to be the target and draw the bastard out of hiding once and for all. I wanted to be the one he went after instead of those other people he had killed along the way. I wanted to be the target. I was the target._

_But in being the target I had forgotten one thing. One very important thing. If you can't get to the target you do the next best thing. You go after what means the most to him._

**6:40pm**

John had barely stopped the car when he was hurling himself out of it. Skidding to a halt so fast the tires screamed and left tread marks across the road. He ran up the walk, seeing the front door of Moira's house wide open. There was nothing but blackness within, no motion or sound.

There was a man sprawled on the front lawn, moaning and trying to move. Blood gleamed red on his bald head. John ignored him, leapt over him, not breaking his stride as he ran to the front door. It was broken. Pieces of wood littered the threshold as he ran across it. "Moira!" he called, but he knew he was too late.

He froze.

The room was a wreck. Furniture was upended. The couch was overturned. The glass coffee table has been smashed. Glass littered the floor, sparkled with blood and John felt his stomach turn over in dread. A bookshelf had been slammed to the floor. Books were sprawled under it and across the room. Knickknacks were smashed, pieces lying like little corpses on the beige carpet. Roses that been wilting in a vase were now strewn in a circle near the kitchen. Crimson petals furled and dying as the vase was nothing more than pieces of shattered crystal.

John couldn't move. He couldn't breathe for a moment. He bit his lower lip in unconscious imitation of Moira and forced himself to view the crime scene with absolute dispassion.

"John! John, what has…oh my God! What's happened here?" Carson asked. He was helping Richard into the house. The bald man was staggering, blood pouring along his face from his scalp. His glasses were askew and he tried to right them with a shaky hand.

"Two. No, three assailants. Violent. She put up one hell of a fight, but they were in a frenzy. Destroying for the sake of destroying. Abduction. She was taken by force." His voice was calm. Detached. He squatted amid the debris. The glass crunched under his shoes. His gaze locked on the splatters of red blood. "They hurt her, but they, they didn't kill her."

"But who would take her, and why?" Carson asked, baffled.

"Me. It's because of me…they took her because of me. To get at me." John couldn't focus for a moment. Fixated on the blood shining amid the glass. A thousand terrible thoughts and images were assaulting him.

"It's not her blood."

At the doctor's quiet words John stood. He slowly turned to see the doctor holding a large bandage to Richard's head. "What?"

"It's not her blood. It's his. Richard tried to fight them off but there were too many and they were too vicious and they—"

John reacted. He grabbed Richard by the lapels and wrenched him out of Carson's grasp, only to shove him into the wall. "Where is she?" he growled.

"John, no!" Carson warned.

"I don't know! I swear to God I don't know!"

"Where did they take her?" John demanded in a voice raw with murderous rage. He shoved Richard into the wall again, trying to resist the urge to throttle the man.

"I don't know! I don't know where they took her, I swear!"

"He doesn't know, John! He tried to save her! He doesn't know!" Carson exclaimed, trying to pull John off the other man but the detective was immovable.

"Where?"

"I don't know!" Richard wailed, close to blubbering. He had been scared by the men sent to grab Moira but they had been nothing compared to the wrath of Detective Sheppard.

John dropped him to the floor, disgust on his face. "If anything happens to her I swear I will kill you!" he snarled. Stepped back to study the crime scene again, hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Carson glanced at Richard, stepped carefully to John's side. "They didn't hurt her. They just took her. They must be taking her to the Stratosphere, right?"

"No. They're trying to draw me away from there. He's been causing all these diversions all day. Son of a bitch! How could I have been so fucking stupid! This whole day has been one big distraction, diversion! To keep me from the facility, from figuring out his plan and stopping him! First by the murders, then the sympathizers at the power stations, then Bates provoking me enough to get me arrested and out of the picture for a while, then the fire at the Stratosphere, and now this to…"

"To what? John?" Carson touched the other man's shoulder. "Think, man! Where did they take her? And who has her?"

"I don't know where, but I know who. Todd." He met Carson's gaze. Anguish in his green eyes. "Todd has her, Carson. Todd has Moira now."

Evan parked the sedan and stared at the chaos erupting all around them. The street was crammed with police cars, fire trucks, ambulances and forensic vans. "This way, McKay."

Rodney nodded, following the younger man around the block. Dark smoke hung heavy in the air and he tried not to cough at the fumes. "Shouldn't we wait for Sheppard?"

"Yes, but back here. We'll make our ingress here, at a service door. Better to be unseen, okay?" Evan stepped round, into the shadows of the alley. He hefted his P90. He found it odd to be handling a weapon again, but it all came back to him. Just like riding a bicycle.

"Okay." Rodney stepped next to him, adjusting the backpack yet again. "This must be quite familiar to you. Guns and stealth, I mean."

"Yes, although it's been a while since I've been in active duty. And certainly not in anything like this. I suppose you're used to it all."

"Not really. I would prefer to be in my lab." He changed the backpack to his other shoulder.

"Why don't you just put that thing down?"

"I will, when it…oh oh." Rodney set the pack down, rifled in it.

"What oh oh? McKay?"

Rodney was muttering to himself. He pulled out the instrument, fighting it free of the material. He looked round. "Shit. I don't suppose there's a power outlet nearby?"

"No, not in an alley. Why?"

Rodney stood. Carrying the device in his hands as he swung the backpack onto one shoulder. "Whatever is happening is happening now. This equipment just detected a faint signal, but I need to plug it in to find the source and to interrupt it."

"You mean Todd's got that device activated now?" Evan asked, glancing up at the impossibly high observatory over their heads. The structure was a narrow white finger pointing up, up against the orange and black sky.

"Yes. We have a little time while it gathers enough energy to send the signal, but we need to move now." Rodney glanced up as well. "I just hope the elevators are still working!"


	9. Chapter 9

Violets in Vegas: Field of Diamonds9

_There was still time. Time to find Moira and to save her. Time to stop the device and to save the planet. There was still time. Time to find Todd and to kill him. Time to round up those damn sympathizers and jail their asses, or kill them. There was still time. Time to salvage what was left of my career and invent a plausible cover story for all of this shit. Time to make it all up to Moira and to finally tell her how I really felt about her._

_There was still time._

_Funny how we can make ourselves believe even the boldest lie._

Moira was flung to the ground. She fell hard, but rolled, protecting her abdomen. She moved to her knees as the men freed her. She watched as one untied her hands. She was in the middle of the desert and there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, so there was no need for any restraints. She tore the gag from her mouth, staring round. Darkness stained the horizon. The sky was a haze of orange and yellow and violet, beautiful. Clouds were obscuring the moon but you could just make it out, a white orb that was just beginning to be eclipsed.

"What do you want? Who are you?" she asked then coughed as her throat felt raw. She watched the men as they stood, staring at her. Then suddenly then moved away from her. She knew. Even though his footfalls were silent she knew who was coming. She felt a dread, a terrible realization that made her heart pause, that made her breathing pause.

She watched in mute horror as the Wraith walked to her. She watched in consternation as he held her phone in one hand, then accessed a number.

Todd smiled.

"No! I have to go alone!" John was striding out of the house. He paused as Carson followed him. John tried to shut the door but it was at an awkward angle since the door frame was split and the wood was bent. He shut it. Shut it, but it wouldn't close completely. "Fuck!" He slammed the door shut and it trembled in the frame.

"I'm coming with you whether you like it or not, John! What if she needs medical attention! Besides, do you even know where you are going?"

"I…" John paused as his phone buzzed and buzzed, sending a vibration through his pants. He snatched it out of his pocket. Stared stupidly at the caller ID. He looked up at Carson. "It's….it's Moira."

"Then hadn't you better answer it?" Carson snapped.

John scowled. He knew it wasn't Moira, just her phone. He knew. He lifted it to his ear. "Where is she?" he snarled.

"John Sheppard," sounded the melodious voice of Todd. The name a caress that sent shivers down John's spine. This close to his ear the voice penetrated and was almost intimate in its tone.

"Where is she?" he repeated, keeping his voice low but gruff. He ignored his rapidly beating heart and growing anxiety.

"I have your mate, John Sheppard."

"I'm not his mate!" Moira protested, struggling to her feet as dizziness assailed her. "Give me my phone, you asshole! John, John, it's a trap! John!" She cried out as the Wraith pushed her backwards. She fell onto the hard desert sand and struggled to her knees again. She wiped blood from the corner of her mouth, glaring as Todd shook his head, waved a finger at her as if she was a naughty child.

"I have your mate, John Sheppard," he repeated, his voice slowing and savoring every vowel, every consonant of John's name. "Oh, I must confess I couldn't resist. I just had to have a taste of her. A brief taste…and she is very sweet. Very, very sweet."

Moira blanched at the words. She looked down at her chest, recalling the brief touch of his palm to her skin. The quick sensation of being asphyxiated then restored. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced, and dearly did not want to experience again.

John smiled, hearing her voice. A wave of relief sweeping through him to hear her alive. To hear her not only alive but pissed. Until he heard her cry of pain. Until Todd's taunting words filled his ear. "Don't you fucking touch her! Where?"

Todd chuckled. "You want her back, do you? Then come and get her, John Sheppard. You know the place. Where it all began. Where you died, and will die again. Where you will experience an agony and despair so debilitating it will unman you and I will savor every last drop of your..."

The phone died.

Todd frowned, looking down at it. He lifted it to his ear. "John Sheppard? Can you hear me? Can you hear me now? Damn." He lowered it to stare at the screen. "It seems I have used all of your minutes, Moira O'Meara."

Moira sighed. "Well, thanks. Thanks a lot for that, Todd. Now I'll have to pay an overage fee."

"Stupid machine." He dropped the phone to the ground. "Your primitive technology is pathetic." He eyed her. "And don't call me Todd."

"What? I didn't quite catch the rest of your obligatory bad guy gloating, asshole? Todd? Todd?" John swore, shoved his phone into his pocket.

"Is Moira all right?" Carson asked.

"Yeah, for now. He's waiting. Todd's waiting for me."

"And do you know where to find them?"

"Yes. I do." John procured his phone again. "I better call McKay. It's all up to him now."

Rodney nearly jumped when his phone rang in the stairwell. He answered it. "Shit! John, about fucking time! Where the hell are you? The device has been remotely activated and I am trying to run interference but as it gains more power I won't be able to disrupt it for long!"

"Rodney, shut up!" John snapped. "Lorne's in charge! Tell him to run the ops and get you up to the observatory to stop this thing now!"

"What? Where the hell are you?"

"I'm going after Todd!"

"What? Todd's not here?" Rodney looked at Evan who was staring, equally surprised.

"No, he's not there so get a move on it! I'll join you once I get Moira so go! Don't wait for me!"

"Wait, what do you mean get Moira? Where is she? John, I think you are getting your priorities screwed up here, okay? We've got to stop this thing before it opens the rift and—"

"Then stop talking and go! I'm going after Todd!"

"Why if he's not here and the-"

"He's got Moira! Go!" John ended the call and sprinted to his car.

Rodney stared at his phone a moment. Looked at Evan who was waiting. "Right, then. You're in charge. Let's go. We've got to save the world while John saves Moira and stops Todd."

"What? What are you—" Evan began.

"Stop talking and go!" Rodney began to follow Evan up the stairs. The lights flickered. "I only hope the elevators are still working," he muttered.


End file.
